IPL 9: 10 young Indian stars to watch out for in this year's edition

These hardworking and talented boys will be hoping to turn it on in the big stage of IPL 2016 and exhibit the ‘X-Factor' that the selectors are always looking out for.

Rishabh Pant (Delhi Daredevils)

This lad is who represented India in this year's U-19 World Cup is part of the Delhi Daredevils this year and was purchased for 1.9 crores from a base price of Rs 10 lakhs. Pant made a half-century for Delhi against Bengal on his Ranji Trophy debut recently and has been on a run-making spree since, including the 2016 ICC under-19 World Cup. Having been impressive in the U-19 stage, he will be hoping he gets into the playing XI during his first IPL season. His knowledge of the Feroz Shah Kotla pitch and ground will surely come in handy.

Armaan Jaffer (Kings XI Punjab)

Nephew of former India opener Wasim Jaffer, Armaan, a lanky right-hand batsman, is coached by his father Kalim Jaffer. He scored three consecutive double-centuries in the Cooch Behar Trophy. His sequence of scores in the Cooch Behar Trophy read: 56 (against Baroda), 174 (against Tripura), 224 (against Madhya Pradesh), 223 (against Odisha), 218 not out (against Karnataka), and 83 (against Vidarbha). Armaan has solid technique and could be a good choice, if he's in form. to lend stability to the KXIP middle order. He was bought for Rs 10 lakh.

Sarfaraz Khan (Royal Challengers Bangalore)Sarfaraz Khan(Pic/ AFP)

Mumbai lad Sarfaraz Khan was India's find at the 2014 edition of the ICC U-19 World Cup, It was his counter-attacking knock against Pakistan in 2014’s ICC U-91 CWC that gave a glimpse of his temperament. He has since starred with the bat for Royal Challengers Bangalore, where he was the youngest player. Sarfaraz, who used to represent Mumbai in the domestic circuit moved to Uttar Pradesh at the start of the 2015-16 season. He is coached by his father Naushad Khan. He will be hoping to become a regular fixture in the RCB playing XI and builld on his reputation and prove that last season was not a flash in the pan. The young batsman was bought by RCB for Rs. 50 lakh in 2015.

KC Cariappa (Kolkata Knight Riders)

He was playing 'tennis ball' cricket a few seasons ago, is yet to compete at the senior level but fetched a price tag of Rs 2.4 crore at Indian cricket's most glitzy market in the 2015 auction. 21-year-old Cariappa, a little known leg-spinner from Coorg, whose three-finger grip and variations brought him a lot of success while playing for Bijapur Bulls in the Karnataka Premier League, made his debut for KKR last year and was sold this year to Kings XI Punjab. But the time he spent with the likes of Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Brad Hogg and Johan Botha is sure to have done him a world of good. Whether he gets a game or not remains to be seen. But everyone is eagerly waiting to see the guy who troubled Gautam Gambhir and Manish Pandey in the nets. KC Cariappa was sold to Kings XI Punjab for Rs. 80 lakh.

Nathu Singh (Mumbai Indians)

This little-known 20-year-old fast bowler from Rajasthan may have played just six first class matches so far, but the rookie has already become the talk of the town in cricket circles. Nathu, who averages around 140 kmph and touches 145 kmph, and has been praised by legends Rahul Dravid, Sandeep Patel and Glenn McGrath. With just 6 first-class matches under your belt, this son of a labourer in a wire factory near Jaipur, has trained under Glenn McGrath at the MRF Pace Academy in Chennai. He was purchased by Mumbai Indians for Rs. 3.2 crore in this year's auction.

Ankit Rajpoot (Kolkata Knight Riders)

After Praveen Kumar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, here comes another promising pacer from the Uttar Pradesh stable. The 22-year-old has been rated highly by Venkatesh Prasad who was the state's head coach for two seasons. A swing bowler, he relies on subtle changes in length to get his man. He was a part of the Chennai Super Kings squad for two seasons -- 2013 and 2014, but the got very few opportunities. But having had the chance to interact with the likes of Andy Bichel, the former Australia pacer who worked as the franchise's bowling coach, and training under Jacques Kallis at could see him become a crucial bowler for the Kolkata franchise.

Deepak Hooda (Sunrisers Hyderabad)

Deepak Hooda is a batting allrounder who shone with for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2015. He scored 151 runs in 14 matches at a strike-rate of 158.94 for Rajasthan Royals last season. In the 2016 IPL auction, Hooda was picked up by Sunrisers Hyderabad for an huge sum of Rs 4.2 crore and they will be hoping he can be the finisher they have been lacking till now. Hooda came into the limelight after his match-winning knock of 54 off 25 balls against Delhi Daredevils in IPL encounter last seasonmn.

Shreyas Gopal (Mumbai Indians)

This 22-year-old has played a handful of first-class games for Karnataka since his debut in late 2013. But his effective leg-breaks and quality lower-order batting has made him a vital cog in the team and Mumbai Indians will be hoping for some of the same from him. This talented youngster was bought by Mumbai Indians for his base price of Rs. 10 lakh in the 2014 auctions.

Krunal Pandya (Mumbai Indians)

Krunal Pandya (left) with brother Hardik

The elder brother of India all-rounder Hardik Pandya , Krunal bats and bowls left-handed. A slow left-arm orthodox bowler has picked up 16 wickets in 15 T20 matches and scored 167 runs at a strike rate of 138.01 which is the reason MI bought him for a whopping Rs. 2 crore deal. The talented youngster is in the same team as his younger brother and hopefully sibling rivalry will lead to both doing well for the team.

Murugan Ashwin (Rising Pune Supergiants)

A relative unknown, this leg spinner from Tamil Nadu, shot into the consiousness of cricket lovers across India after being bought for a whopping Rs 4.5 crore by Rising Pune Supergiants in the 2016 IPL Auction in Bengaluru. He has had an ordinary first-class domestic season, but it is his form in T20s that count. He was sensational in the 2015-16 Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Tournament held in January 2016, taking 10 wickets in six matches at an economy rate of just 5.52. The new franchise of the tournament, Rising Pune Supergiants have bet big on him and are hoping that the gamble pays off.